I can’t believe that something so a part of human understanding, in the loss of a loved one, can get so muddled in its expression. One usually doesn’t go to lengths to express a condolence, whether it be awkward for the person or just a case where there are no words to express the feeling. Yet, as awkward as it may be to express yourself, there is always a sense of sadness that one has for the ones grieving, and kindness is the way to go.
Those who are empty of that understanding usually stumble in that moment. Even a smile and a touch can make the moment special because the electricity we express, through our dynamic heart, out to our touch, can lift the spirit in times of grief.
I expect many of you have seen the film, “Fierce Grace”. It’s the documentary of Baba Ram Das’ experience after his stroke. If you haven’t seen it I highly recommend a watch. It will move you. In the meantime, I have made a selection from the film that highlights a letter written by Ram Das to two of his close followers, a couple who had recently lost their young daughter to a senseless crime. This is the highest degree of condolence. The ability to bring a deeper understanding to such a moment of despair. And yet, for those not as eloquent as Ram Das, there is always a smile and a touch.
Anger has become the overriding emotion among the citizens of this country. Moving into a rage, it is a sore that has festered to the point that it has infected us all. I’ve found myself so uneasy with this emotion that my smile has waned and my guts have erupted. It’s not pleasant and it’s not sustainable. Something will definitely blow. It’s for that reason I’m writing this post.
This blog is based on the possibility that we humans will evolve to a more enlightened state of mind. Under the present circumstances, it looks pretty grim that there is any possibility. In fact, the norm is erupting into a more abnormal normal. Minds are being blown apart by acts of insanity, bringing the common denominator of Common Sense to a level of Common Nonsense. Infantile brain-farts are dominating the landscape and, in some, the ego has become so infatuated with itself that it has blocked all notions of surviving the catastrophic murmurings of the world’s Mind-Sick Leaders. It doesn’t look good. (more…)
It seems to me that our greatest challenge in life is the discovery of who or what is the true self. The True Self, the essence that lies beneath our façade, our story, our personality. It is that which ignites and expands with all our experiences.
Most, if not all religions, want to separate our physical being from the ‘Divine’ energy that we think is God. I’m starting to feel different about that notion. I’m beginning to feel as if there is no separation. If there is a Divine Essence within us then we are truly one with that Essence, the Soul, the Godhead. Perhaps that thing that animates us, which is Pure Consciousness, is the blood that flows through all the animations of physical existence. We would then be nothing more than the atoms of the All, and our singular experiences are really the All’s experience. The raindrop falling into the ocean becomes the ocean, even knowing it is still a raindrop. Its oneness with the ocean is an enhancement of its singularity, not a separate thing. For there is no separation, even when it was floating solo above the great sea. (more…)
Traveling away from planet Earth, on an interstellar transport, I was in the company of 3 or 4 beings that looked like us but had more of a light body present than we do. I asked them why we were leaving earth and where we were headed. One of them, the leader I imagine, told me we were headed to the next step of evolution, on another planet, outside our system. We were leaving earth and its life forms behind. The previous step of evolution was over and a new level was appearing out of CONSCIOUSNESS.
When I asked how we could help the earth and all the humans the leader informed me that their time was over and their demise would not be a painful thing, but a natural jump to the new experience. Not only would all those life forms be gone, but the earth itself would be done.
The leader tells me that it was all an illusion, the earth and the life upon it. That I could manifest a new, more enlightened world, and it would happen if I finally made the choice to surrender my mind to the true nature of my heart, the magical intuitive of awakening to the aliveness beyond all else. Allowing my heart to become The Warrior Heart. This was always the plan. Not just for a few, but for a great many. This warrior heart would have no fear of its mind and its ego plans. Now, doubt would not obscure the true nature of our birthing into Light, as Divine Explorers. My frustration and confusion would dissipate as soon as that ultimate surrender took place.
It’s inching its way there…
There are those of us who are frustrated, angry, out of step, and ready to throw up our hands in the resolve that the world is just too dense to bust through the ignorance veil. It’s not that we are so smart, but there is definitely a feeling deep inside that gnaws at us. Every new discovery that the reptilian mind is controlling the outcome of life right now buries the stake deeper into our hearts. Now, more than ever is a time to stay the course. When the dust clears, and it will, we’ll breathe clear again and go on our merry way.
Robert alerted me about this video from the 2016 Nobel Prize ceremony honoring Bob Dylan. Watching it I was moved by the passion of truthfulness that is so lacking today and so prevalent during the turbulent 60’s. We were rough riders then. Alive with a mystery to be clarified, of life, and its need for exploding the myth. There were troubadours of light back then. The Beatles “A Day In The Life,” The Stones “Symphony For The Devil,” Phil Ochs “Changes,” Pete Seeger “Where Have All The Flowers Gone,” and of course Bob Dylan’s “A Hard Rain A-Gonna Fall.”
We laughed hard and cried hard then. Tears of laughter and tears of joy were our banner and we dared the stink of ignorance to silence us. They were sly foes back then. The agenda of silencing the truth was a dangerous game. The threat of being chained and bound was the norm. And now we have the result of that time, playing out in the most outrageous ways. A Hard Rain Has Fallen.
This video has a moving moment, of faltering and honesty and heartfelt crowd acceptance. Our personal selfishness aside, we do have the capacity for love. Hey, let’s get on with it!
Oh, where have you been, my blue-eyed son?
Oh, where have you been, my darling young one?
I’ve stumbled on the side of twelve misty mountains
I’ve walked and I’ve crawled on six crooked highways
I’ve stepped in the middle of seven sad forests
I’ve been out in front of a dozen dead oceans
I’ve been ten thousand miles in the mouth of a graveyard
And it’s a hard, and it’s a hard, it’s a hard, and it’s a hard
And it’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall
Oh, what did you see, my blue-eyed son?
Oh, what did you see, my darling young one?
I saw a newborn baby with wild wolves all around it
I saw a highway of diamonds with nobody on it
I saw a black branch with blood that kept drippin’
I saw a room full of men with their hammers a-bleedin’
I saw a white ladder all covered with water
I saw ten thousand talkers whose tongues were all broken
I saw guns and sharp swords in the hands of young children
And it’s a hard, and it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard
And it’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall
And what did you hear, my blue-eyed son?
And what did you hear, my darling young one?
I heard the sound of a thunder, it roared out a warnin’
Heard the roar of a wave that could drown the whole world
Heard one person starve, I heard many people laughin’
Heard the song of a poet who died in the gutter
Heard the sound of a clown who cried in the alley
And it’s a hard, and it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard
And it’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall
Oh, who did you meet, my blue-eyed son?
Who did you meet, my darling young one?
I met a young child beside a dead pony
I met a white man who walked a black dog
I met a young woman whose body was burning
I met a young girl, she gave me a rainbow
I met one man who was wounded in love
I met another man who was wounded with hatred
And it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard
It’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall
Oh, what’ll you do now, my blue-eyed son?
Oh, what’ll you do now, my darling young one?
I’m a-goin’ back out ‘fore the rain starts a-fallin’
I’ll walk to the depths of the deepest black forest
Where the people are many and their hands are all empty
Where the pellets of poison are flooding their waters
Where the home in the valley meets the damp dirty prison
Where the executioner’s face is always well-hidden
Where hunger is ugly, where souls are forgotten
Where black is the color, where none is the number
And I’ll tell it and think it and speak it and breathe it
And reflect it from the mountain so all souls can see it
Then I’ll stand on the ocean until I start sinkin’
But I’ll know my song well before I start singin’
And it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard
It’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall
We are now in a state of total flux. Not knowing what or who to believe, we hear an echo of our inner voice, crying to be heard over the clatter of ignorance. The main champion of this flux is FEAR, our dear friend, wrapped in a blanket of emotional instability. Either it’s DESIRE, driven by fear and loathing, or GREED attached to apathetic money-mongers, whose coffers are filled with the killed dreams of pathetic believers.
Wake Up, People! Stop complaining about tomorrow and listen to the truths of today. You have traded sincerity and well-being for false promises. Promises which will turn the face of well-being into a scream of despair. Stop! Look! Listen! Do not step off that curb while the traffic is jetting by. There is time to action ahead, but first pay attention to that inner voice, telling you loud and clear, You’re Being Taken For A Ride.
When the dust settles in your mind, and you have a chance to see the clarity of righteousness, you will again make decisions that nourish the heart. At that special time, the bliss of gratitude will rain down Grace, and we will be free of the tyranny that plagues us now.
“You only have power over people as long as you don’t take everything away from them. But when you’ve robbed a man of everything, he’s no longer in your power—he’s free again.”
― Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
“As a nation, we began by declaring that ‘all men are created equal.’ We now practically read it ‘all men are created equal, except negroes.’ When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read ‘all men are created equal, except negroes, and foreigners, and Catholics.’ When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty – to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocrisy.”
― Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln Letters
It’s a long-standing tradition for the sitting president of the United States to leave a parting letter in the Oval Office for the American elected to take his or her place. It’s a letter meant to share what we know, what we’ve learned, and what small wisdom may help our successor bear the great responsibility that comes with the highest office in our land, and the leadership of the free world.
But before I leave my note for our 45th president, I wanted to say one final thank you for the honor of serving as your 44th. Because all that I’ve learned in my time in office, I’ve learned from you. You made me a better President, and you made me a better man.
Throughout these eight years, you have been the source of goodness, resilience, and hope from which I’ve pulled strength. I’ve seen neighbors and communities take care of each other during the worst economic crisis of our lifetimes. I have mourned with grieving families searching for answers—and found grace in a Charleston church.
I’ve taken heart from the hope of young graduates and our newest military officers. I’ve seen our scientists help a paralyzed man regain his sense of touch, and wounded warriors once given up for dead walk again. I’ve seen Americans whose lives have been saved because they finally have access to medical care, and families whose lives have been changed because their marriages are recognized as equal to our own. I’ve seen the youngest of children remind us through their actions and through their generosity of our obligations to care for refugees, or work for peace, and, above all, to look out for each other.
I’ve seen you, the American people, in all your decency, determination, good humor, and kindness. And in your daily acts of citizenship, I’ve seen our future unfolding.
All of us, regardless of party, should throw ourselves into that work—the joyous work of citizenship. Not just when there’s an election, not just when our own narrow interest is at stake, but over the full span of a lifetime.
I’ll be right there with you every step of the way.
And when the arc of progress seems slow, remember: America is not the project of any one person. The single most powerful word in our democracy is the word ‘We.’ ‘We the People.’ ‘We shall overcome.’
A dear friend of mine sent along this post from ScratchPolitics.com. In light of the deep appreciation many of us have for Barack Obama’s service, we thought it would be apropos to pass it on. It’s heartfelt and insightful.
With the exit of Barack Obama, we are losing a leadership based on thoughtfulness, compassion, and hope. This was the mantle of our 44th President and it will be sorely missed. As a charismatic leader, President Obama gave us a feeling of calm and resolve, even in the face of our fears and doubts. There was always the glass half full, and although some could not find their way to appreciate his demeanor we were all left with something more substantial in our lives. And that would be the grace he left us.
Now we are faced with an uncertain future. The highest office of this nation will now be infiltrated with bullying, sarcasm, mistrust, apathy and narcissism. I asked Robert to download information from our friends in the future regarding our present state of affairs and here is the answer that was given.
Part One, The Storm in Time
“Dear Orange and Omis,
“I am sending this request—through normal channels—at the urging of my collaborator, Stefan, whom you know well. We are currently experiencing major turmoil in national and world politics. With the election of a new and potentially difficult president, with a complete domination by the conservative wing of American politics, it seems we are headed backward in our evolution right now. It seems chaotic and demoralizing, especially after what many saw as so much progress toward a more caring world. Would you be willing to comment on these developments and advise us about how to react and act here?”
O’s voice comes through immediately: “I would certainly be willing. These are the times we have described as the ‘Great Storm’. These are actually the death throes of your species and the end of the civilization, as you know it. A heavy-handed patriarchy has dominated your world for all your ‘recorded’ history—5,000 years, plus or minus. Times are indeed changing!
“You are aware that the time frames we work with—in our group of twelve and with the angelans—cover much larger spans than mere five millennia. When we look at the passage of ages, civilizations, and species, we see millions of years at a glance. The cycles of storming, forming, norming, etcetera, come and go with greater frequency than you would like to hear.
“The current downturn and upsweep of your political world is but one of many cycles, great and small, that proceed endlessly throughout the continuum of evolving consciousness. The pendulum never stops swinging, adjusting, and balancing the duality forces at play. The age you are living in now—with its place on Earth—is a particularly intense one, as we have indicated through all our messages. That is the raison d’être for the letters and books we have sent to you. This is a time of great movement in consciousness, a time when evolution itself has decided to bring a new acute awareness to the table. (more…)
We need to be inspired. But inspiration doesn’t come out of flat words. Inspiration comes from legitimate love of truth. Translating that truth into ‘shaking and waking moments’ is an art that doesn’t gift many. In fact, there are few among us who can stir our bones and light up that marrow within us. We saw one of those people last evening at the opening of the Democratic Convention.
We always hope our leaders have that spark that cannot only lead, but can give us a reason to follow. Where fear is the spearhead for many, the true inspiration comes directly through our heart’s complete connection to absolute Love. This Love sends shivers down our spine. Once settled in that root it bursts upward, lighting up the joy sensations along the way, finally reaching our connector to the Divine and showering us in feelings of bliss. This was the experience, last evening, listening to Michelle Obama inspire. When moments like this touch our lives so deeply we must not forget.
Thank you all. Thank you so much. You know, it’s hard to believe that it has been eight years since I first came to this convention to talk with you about why I thought my husband should be president.
Remember how I told you about his character and convictions, his decency and his grace, the traits that we’ve seen every day that he’s served our country in the White House?
I also told you about our daughters, how they are the heart of our hearts, the center of our world. And during our time in the White House, we’ve had the joy of watching them grow from bubbly little girls into poised young women, a journey that started soon after we arrived in Washington.
When they set off for their first day at their new school, I will never forget that winter morning as I watched our girls, just 7 and 10 years old, pile into those black SUVs with all those big men with guns.
And I saw their little faces pressed up against the window, and the only thing I could think was, what have we done?
See, because at that moment I realized that our time in the White House would form the foundation for who they would become and how well we managed this experience could truly make or break them. That is what Barack and I think about every day as we try to guide and protect our girls through the challenges of this unusual life in the spotlight, how we urge them to ignore those who question their father’s citizenship or faith.
How we insist that the hateful language they hear from public figures on TV does not represent the true spirit of this country.
How we explain that when someone is cruel or acts like a bully, you don’t stoop to their level. No, our motto is, when they go low, we go high.
With every word we utter, with every action we take, we know our kids are watching us. We as parents are their most important role models. And let me tell you, Barack and I take that same approach to our jobs as president and first lady because we know that our words and actions matter, not just to our girls, but the children across this country, kids who tell us I saw you on TV, I wrote a report on you for school.
Kids like the little black boy who looked up at my husband, his eyes wide with hope and he wondered, is my hair like yours?
And make no mistake about it, this November when we go to the polls that is what we’re deciding, not Democrat or Republican, not left or right. No, in this election and every election is about who will have the power to shape our children for the next four or eight years of their lives.
And I am here tonight because in this election there is only one person who I trust with that responsibility, only one person who I believe is truly qualified to be president of the United States, and that is our friend Hillary Clinton.
That’s right.
See, I trust Hillary to lead this country because I’ve seen her lifelong devotion to our nation’s children, not just her own daughter, who she has raised to perfection…
…but every child who needs a champion, kids who take the long way to school to avoid the gangs, kids who wonder how they’ll ever afford college, kids whose parents don’t speak a word of English, but dream of a better life, kids who look to us to determine who and what they can be.
You see, Hillary has spent decades doing the relentless, thankless work to actually make a difference in their lives…
…advocating for kids with disabilities as a young lawyer, fighting for children’s health care as first lady, and for quality child care in the Senate.
And when she didn’t win the nomination eight years ago, she didn’t get angry or disillusioned.
Hillary did not pack up and go home, because as a true public servant Hillary knows that this is so much bigger than her own desires and disappointments.
So she proudly stepped up to serve our country once again as secretary of state, traveling the globe to keep our kids safe.
And look, there were plenty of moments when Hillary could have decided that this work was too hard, that the price of public service was too high, that she was tired of being picked apart for how she looks or how she talks or even how she laughs. But here’s the thing. What I admire most about Hillary is that she never buckles under pressure. She never takes the easy way out. And Hillary Clinton has never quit on anything in her life.
And when I think about the kind of president that I want for my girls and all our children, that’s what I want.
I want someone with the proven strength to persevere, someone who knows this job and takes it seriously, someone who understands that the issues a president faces are not black and white and cannot be boiled down to 140 characters.
Because when you have the nuclear codes at your fingertips and the military in your command, you can’t make snap decisions. You can’t have a thin skin or a tendency to lash out. You need to be steady and measured and well-informed.
I want a president with a record of public service, someone whose life’s work shows our children that we don’t chase form and fortune for ourselves, we fight to give everyone a chance to succeed.
And we give back even when we’re struggling ourselves because we know that there is always someone worse off. And there but for the grace of God go I.
I want a president who will teach our children that everyone in this country matters, a president who truly believes in the vision that our Founders put forth all those years ago that we are all created equal, each a beloved part of the great American story.
And when crisis hits, we don’t turn against each other. No, we listen to each other, we lean on each other, because we are always stronger together.
And I am here tonight because I know that that is the kind of president that Hillary Clinton will be. And that’s why in this election I’m with her.
You see, Hillary understands that the president is about one thing and one thing only, it’s about leaving something better for our kids. That’s how we’ve always moved this country forward, by all of us coming together on behalf of our children, folks who volunteer to coach that team, to teach that Sunday school class, because they know it takes a village.
Heroes of every color and creed who wear the uniform and risk their lives to keep passing down those blessings of liberty, police officers and the protesters in Dallas who all desperately want to keep our children safe.
People who lined up in Orlando to donate blood because it could have been their son, their daughter in that club.
Leaders like Tim Kaine…
…who show our kids what decency and devotion look like.
Leaders like Hillary Clinton who has the guts and the grace to keep coming back and putting those cracks in that highest and hardest glass ceiling until she finally breaks through, lifting all of us along with her.
That is the story of this country, the story that has brought me to this stage tonight, the story of generations of people who felt the lash of bondage, the shame of servitude, the sting of segregation, but who kept on striving and hoping and doing what needed to be done so that today I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves.
And I watch my daughters, two beautiful, intelligent, black young women playing with their dogs on the White House lawn.
And because of Hillary Clinton, my daughters and all our sons and daughters now take for granted that a woman can be president of the United States.
So, look, so don’t let anyone ever tell you that this country isn’t great, that somehow we need to make it great again. Because this right now is the greatest country on earth!
And as my daughters prepare to set out into the world, I want a leader who is worthy of that truth, a leader who is worthy of my girls’ promise and all our kids’ promise, a leader who will be guided every day by the love and hope and impossibly big dreams that we all have for our children.
So in this election, we cannot sit back and hope that everything works out for the best. We cannot afford to be tired or frustrated or cynical. No, hear me. Between now and November, we need to do what we did eight years ago and four years ago.
We need to knock on every door, we need to get out every vote, we need to pour every last ounce of our passion and our strength and our love for this country into electing Hillary Clinton as president of the United States of America!
So let’s get to work. Thank you all and God bless.
